The present invention relates generally to vehicle suspension systems and, in particular, to vehicle suspension systems employing air springs.
Some automobile and truck suspension systems include air springs mounted between an axle assembly (or suspension system component) and a vehicle frame (or body). Air springs typically include a base, mounted to the axle assembly, a top cap, mounted to the frame, and a diaphragm disposed between and attached to the base and the cap. The diaphragm defines an inflatable compressed air cavity that is compressible during operation of the vehicle to smooth the vehicle's ride.
Vehicles equipped with the air springs also typically include jounce bumpers, which are blocks of rubber mounted between the vehicle suspension system and frame that prevent a vehicle from bottoming out during operation. That is, the rubber jounce bumpers are sandwiched between the suspension components and frame to prevent hard metal to metal contact. Mounting jounce bumpers and the air springs separately, however, requires a larger amount of packaging space and comprises more separate parts than is desirable, and also increases the complexity of assembly for the suspension system. Moreover, jounce bumpers tend to create a rebound spring reaction, referred to as kickback, that is not desirable since they only provide a relatively brief, hard impact without appreciable damping.
Some have suggested mounting of integrating the jounce bumpers inside the air springs. However, this does not alleviate the undesired kickback phenomenon. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a vehicle suspension system that provides both an air spring and a jounce bumper function, and which is packaged in a relatively small amount of space, while also alleviating kickback concerns.